Class of 2011: 20 Under 40

Stephanie Roland, 33. VP, community reinvestment manager, Fifth Third Bank. Stephanie Roland’s passion for community service began at Harrison High School, when she was involved with Youth Resources of Southwestern Indiana. “Over the years, they have just developed a great legacy of getting youth involved in civic engagement,” said Roland, 33, now a board member for the organization. “I have really been delighted to remain involved.” Roland has continued her devotion to community service not only as a citizen, but also as the vice president and community reinvestment manager for Evansville’s Fifth Third Bank. She serves on the bank’s Diversity Council for Southern Indiana and works to help the bank become “a corporate leader in building stronger communities,” she said. “My main goal is to ensure that Fifth Third is meeting the needs of the communities in which we operate through our lending investment and service activities ... and to make sure that we are engaged in the community and are promoting financial literacy and education and empowerment to the community at large,” she said. One of Roland’s first major community projects after starting her Fifth Third job in April was managing the bank’s eBus during its Evansville visit in May. The eBus provides underserved populations with access to financial services, Roland said. “Essentially, we are just mobilizing our financial resources and staff ... to empower people to become financially stable,” she said. Roland works to support underserved populations outside of the office, too. She serves on the boards of the Salvation Army of Evansville and Outreach Ministries, both of which serve low-income and homeless individuals in the community, she said. Family stability and youth development are also important to Roland. She said she wants to share her experience and knowledge with young people and let them know “they can achieve anything that they want to and be successful in life through hard work and dedication.” A strong support system has helped Roland reach personal and professional success, and she wants to help others by supporting them, she said. “The youth of today really are our future leaders, and if I can cultivate those leaders in any way, then I feel that I’ve made a great contribution,” Roland said. Roland has turned her love for community service “into a lifelong personal mission and career path,” said Lloyd Winnecke, senior vice president and marketing director at Fifth Third Bank, in his nomination letter. “She works aggressively to meet community needs and develops and supports initiatives that make our communities stronger,” he said.

Patrick Koontz, 38. Vice president, trust officer, Fifth Third Bank Patrick Koontz, vice president and trust officer for Fifth Third Bank in Evansville, is a crusader for kids in the Tri-State. “We always talk about ... making the Tri-State a place where young people want to live,” he said. “I kind of want to make the Tri-State a place (where) kids want to live, and that kids feel good about and want to come back to.” Koontz’s own sons, ages 8 and 10, have inspired him to provide service work for the Koch Family Children’s Museum of Evansville and the Buffalo Trace Council of the Boy Scouts of America. A former secretary, vice president and president of cMoe’s board, Koontz first learned about the museum when his wife got their kids involved in its Discovery Dash track meet, he said. “I was new to town at that point and wanted to know more about (cMoe), and that fed into getting on the board with them,” Koontz said. “I think it was my fourth or fifth meeting when they decided they were going to close and build the new facility Downtown, so I was thrown right into the thick of it.” Koontz became involved with the Boy Scouts, for which he is a den leader, member of the Pack Leadership Committee and advancement chairman, “completely by accident,” he said. The organization needed a leader for his oldest son’s age group, so he filled the role. “I’ve learned a lot and so has he, so we’ve had a lot of fun,” he said, adding that his wife is now a den leader for their younger son’s pack. Koontz’s work at Fifth Third Bank also is helping to improve the lives of the Tri-State’s youths — some of the charitable trusts he administers are associated with charitable organizations that either work with or assist children, he said. He said he was surprised and pleased by the connection. “What can we do to create opportunities for kids in the community for new experiences?” he asked, adding that finding the answer is important to him. Koontz’s work as a member of the Evansville Bar Association’s board of directors contributes to Tri-State youth development as well. Through the Bar, he serves as a liaison to the Evansville Bar Foundation and to the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corp. Foundation’s Randall T. Shepard Academy of Law and Social Justice, making connections with possible mentors for the academy and sending information about academy-related community events to the academy’s director. Koontz also is a board member of the EVSC Foundation Inc. and the Arts Council of Southwestern Indiana. Koontz said there is “no magic bullet” for making the Tri-State a place where kids want to live, but it can certainly be done as a collaborative effort. “Just like making Evansville a great place for anybody, it’s got to be the whole community stepping up and saying, ‘We want to do this,’ ” he said. “I think that’s there. I think people just have to come up with the ideas and move forward with it.”

Dr. Santiago Arruffat, 36. Surgeon, Ohio Valley Colon and Rectal. Whether perusing the streets of the Bronx or performing emergency surgery for international disaster relief, Dr. Santiago Arruffat of Ohio Valley Colon and Rectal has no problem staying humble. “I don’t do typical doctor things — I like to be as ordinary as possible,” Arruffat said. “I don’t like to be labeled as part of the social elite, and I don’t mean that in a bad way. Outside of the hospital, you wouldn’t know who I am or what I like to do, and I love that.” Arruffat was born in La Caruna, Spain, and not long after, his mother moved the family to New York City, where he eventually attended St. John’s University. After college, Arruffat worked his way through medical school at the University of Puerto Rico at Ponce, where he met his wife, Shirley. Five years ago, hospital recruiters drew him to the Tri-State, and since then he’s been practicing while raising his two young sons, Santiago and Coby. After watching news coverage of the earthquake that ripped Haiti asunder in January 2010, Arruffat decided he wanted to offer his services as disaster relief, but no organization wanted his help. The Red Cross dismissed him, as did several other agencies. Fortunately, his wife submitted an application on his behalf to the Kentucky organization, Missions of Hope. A phone call and a few days later, he and his surgical partner, Dr. Sayan Chilukuri, hopped a plane with two suitcases filled with medicine and surgical instruments in tow. “Those were the toughest two weeks,” Arruffat said. “We just roughed it.” As the 11-hour days mending fractures and repairing ruptured intestine at the General Hospital in Port au Prince took their toll, Arruffat began to face some hard realities. “You feel like you’ve accomplished something, but in the grand scheme of things, you wish you could do so much more, but you can’t. It’s painful because part of me wanted to stay, but realistically, I have my family and my life here in Evansville. I just wish there was so much more that could be done,” he said. Since that first trip, Arruffat has visited Haiti again as well as volunteered his services in Monrovia, Liberia, to which he plans to return this October. Over time, Evansville has shaped up to be quite the base of operations for this New York native whose wanderlust finds himself globe-trotting, medical supplies in hand. “I grew up poor and didn’t have much,” he said. “Now, I feel like I’ve been blessed with a lot. I don’t make a million dollars a year. … I’m kind of simple, I have a nice house and a family — for me, that’s enough.”

LaToya Smith, 24. Coordinator of diversity and outreach initiatives, University of Evansville. LaToya Smith, 24, doesn’t settle for less than what she truly loves to do, and she pursues those passions with purpose. Smith graduated from the University of Evansville in 2009 with a degree in and affection for education, but realized she didn’t want to become a teacher. “It really wasn’t enough,” she said, explaining that she enjoyed interacting with students but didn’t have a love for English, her subject area. “Not loving English I felt wasn’t fair,” she said. “I wanted to do something that I actually loved.” And so she did. During Smith’s senior year of college, then-university President Stephen Jennings told her about the opening for her current position, the university’s coordinator of diversity and outreach initiatives. As Smith said, “the rest is history.” “What I found was the opportunity to combine both my passions: education and diversity,” she said. “Being a minority, you know living like that, it was just a passion for me. And it gives me purpose.” Smith works with the university to make it more diverse ethnically and in terms of gender, sexual orientation and disability. “There’s so many facets, and the university has so much potential to grow; it’s just we have to stack it one block at a time,” she said. Part of Smith’s job involves working with students — she advises several student organizations and meets with students one-on-one, too, she said. She also teaches Sunday school classes regularly at her church, New Hope Missionary Baptist Church, and serves on the board of directors of the Evansville YWCA, she said. Smith said she became involved with the YWCA because its mission aligns with her values. “Their mission is to eliminate racism and empower women,” she said. “Can’t really argue with that.” Smith’s future plans include earning a master’s degree in diversity management at Cleveland State University, which she began pursuing in August. She also is engaged with wedding plans for July. “God has blessed me so much,” she said. “It’s not so much that I’m perfect or that I’m so smart or that I know all the right people; it’s that I’ve been divinely blessed.”

Chad Fetscher, 33. Teacher, Randall T. Shepard Academy for Law and Social Justice Chad Fetscher let a coin flip decide his major as a freshman at the University of Southern Indiana. Heads, he’d study to become an attorney. Tails, a teacher. Four years later, Fetscher accepted a position at Harrison High School, where he’s been happily employed ever since. Most recently, he’s thrown his teaching skills and enthusiasm at the blank slate that is the fledgling Randall T. Shepard Academy for Law and Social Justice, a two-year specialized studies program for juniors and seniors interested in careers in law, politics or social services. Based out of Harrison, the Academy was conceived during a conversation between then-Evansville Vanderburgh School Corp. Superintendent Vincent Bertram and Indiana Supreme Court Chief Justice Randy Shepard, for whom it is named. “The only guideline the EVSC gave us was, ‘make it look different,’ ” Fetscher said, “and that was daunting.” Each week, Fetscher and his longtime teaching partner, Heather Choy, work to bring in local civil servants as guest speakers and to coordinate regular field trips, such as their most recent to Indianapolis to watch oral arguments at the Indiana Supreme Court, followed by a tour of the justices’ chambers. “Some of these students aren’t going into law, but they are going into leadership roles,” Fetscher said. “I’m trying to teach them to be people I would want to live next door to, people that I want to stay in Evansville to be part of our community and be the next generation of leaders. “If they get invested early, I think that they will see that this can be a great place to stay, live and raise their families.” The Academy had 22 students in its first year, and the 2011-2012 junior class will more than double with 52 incoming students. In the future, Fetscher hopes to begin recruiting more students from different high schools. Fetscher also offers the Chad J. Fetscher ’00 & M ’08 Scholarship to a student from Harrison or Reitz majoring in history or political science, an homage to his parents’ vested interest in his and his siblings’ education. “My parents saw the value of education,” Fetscher said. “I remember Dad said one time, ‘People can take everything away from you but your education. They can take your home away, your car away, whatever — but they can’t take away what’s in your head.’ ”

Jeanne Braun, 36. Administrator, St. Mary’s Hospital for Women and Children. When a shoulder injury threatened her full-ride volleyball scholarship at the University of Evansville, junior and business student Jeanne Braun was forced to choose a second major. After growing up with a doctor for a father, where “a skinned knee was a second-degree laceration,” nursing seemed like a good fit. Braun, now 36, has propelled her nursing career forward by bringing her inborn propensity for caregiving and nontraditional business perspective to the table. She currently works as the administrator of St. Mary’s Hospital for Women and Children. Following a brief stint working for Select Specialty Hospital in Bloomington, Ind., Braun returned to Evansville in 2003 to start her career with St. Mary’s Medical Center. She was hired as a retention specialist and then filled multiple positions within the hospital, including director of the renal-diabetic and renal-dialysis units, director of St. Mary’s first “Lean” program and executive director of patient flow. “I’m not an expert in one area, but because I’ve been in so many different positions, it’s helped me to understand, operationally, how we (the St. Mary’s staff) all interact and are dependent on each other,” Braun said. “My approach to everything — recruitment, retention, all of it — is different than the historical nursing approach.” Since taking the reins at the Hospital for Women and Children, Braun’s big fish to fry has been helping St. Mary’s meet the information technology requirements by 2013 for Stage One set forth in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. “It’s important because these IT requirements are indefinite and not going to go away,” Braun said. Her nursing education, combined with her business mindset, also led her to a seat on the board for the Indiana Organization of Nurse Executives. She was awarded her master’s in public service administration from UE in 2005 and has taught as an adjunct professor there since 2006. She expects to receive her master’s in nursing from the University of Southern Indiana in May 2012. For those nurses looking to excel and be a catalyst for change at an administrative level, Braun offers this advice, “Don’t be afraid to challenge the process. Most of the positions I’ve gotten have been because at some point, I stood up and challenged somebody.”

Angela Patton, 29. Community relations and service manager, Casino Aztar Angela Patton, 29, began her rise through the Casino Aztar company as a University of Southern Indiana student looking “to make some extra cash,” she said. Seven years later, the former USI art and art history major is the casino’s community relations and service manager. “Time flies fast when you’re having fun,” she said. Patton enjoys the casino’s fun atmosphere and that her job allows her to get to know people in the community, she said. And Patton certainly knows a thing or two about the Evansville community. While working her corporate job, the East Side Evansville native makes time to participate in various forms of community service. Patton is able to apply her artistic side as a board member of the Evansville Museum Contemporaries, as well as her enthusiasm for educated and involved youths as a member of the Public Education Foundation’s board of directors. Patton said she wants Evansville’s youths to love the area as much as she does. “It’s a great small, but big, town,” she said. “It’s educating them and then keeping them here to make this community grow.” The young professional wants to keep others like herself living in and enjoying Evansville, too. She works toward this goal as a committee member of Greater Evansville: The Place for Young Professionals and through attending Young Professionals Network meetings. She also graduated with the February 2010 class of Leadership Evansville. “We are the future of our community, so if we don’t care about it, who will?” she asked. “I think the youth in Evansville, young professionals, need to really take hold and be a part of the community and understand what their position is in it and how they can help make it grow into something so strong.” In addition to her individual community service efforts, Patton works to strengthen Evansville through encouraging the casino’s team members to get involved in the community. She is working with them to support “nonprofit organizations like the Ronald McDonald House of Evansville, the American Red Cross and Holly’s House,” wrote Brian Favreau, table games trainer at the casino, in his “20 Under 40” nomination for Patton. “Her positive attitude, dedication to her position and commitment to the community make her a leader of tomorrow,” Favreau said.

Julie Stucki, 34. Exercise specialist, The Heart Hospital Cardiac Rehabilitation Center Julie Stucki, 34, didn’t plan on becoming an exercise specialist, and her early doctors didn’t expect that, either — they weren’t counting on her living past her first birthday. But Stucki, who was born with a congenital heart defect — tetralogy of Fallot — has survived numerous heart surgeries, had a son she was told would not be in her best interest to have and is an exercise specialist at The Heart Hospital Cardiac Rehabilitation Center in Evansville. “Thirty-three years ago, kids did not make it to their second birthday, their third birthday, and so on, but of course, I did,” she said. “I knew my entire life that God did this to me for a reason.” Stucki found that reason at age 28, on her first day of cardiac rehab after her latest open-heart surgery. “I walked into cardiac rehab and I knew immediately that’s where God wanted me,” she said. “All of these older people were exercising, and they looked at me like, ‘What is she doing here?’ But what they didn’t know was, I was one of them.” One year later, a job opened at the rehabilitation center, and she was given the position. And it was through that job that Stucki found a way to help children facing the same difficult experiences she had as a child. Stucki went with a patient from the rehabilitation center to a Mended Hearts support group meeting, meant for people with heart disease and their families. At the meeting, the group’s president told Stucki she had a dream of starting a Mended Little Hearts Program for families of children with heart defects. “I thought, ‘Oh, my God, that’s what I want to do,’ ” Stucki said. So, about a year after giving birth to her son, Owen, who was born without a heart defect, Stucki started the group in February 2010. As of July 2011, its membership had grown from six families to around 32. In addition to working with Mended Little Hearts, Stucki is a selected “champion” for WomenHeart: The National Coalition for Women with Heart Disease, for which she speaks nationally, and participates in and is affiliated with the Women and Heart program at Deaconess’ Heart Hospital. Stucki also serves as an ambassador for the Adult Congenital Heart Association, which is “dedicated to improving the quality of life and extending the lives of adults with congenital heart defects,” according to the ACHA website. “My goal is to try and educate every single woman in the Tri-State,” she said.

Gretchen Ross, 27. Assistant director of resource development, United Way. Gretchen Ross, 27, has only been living in Evansville since 2008, but she has already made her mark on the community, both through her job with the United Way of Southwestern Indiana and service work with community theater groups and local youths. Ross, who came to Evansville as a news reporter for Evansville’s Channel 14 WFIE, learned about her current position, assistant director of resource development for United Way, during an interview in 2010. At United Way, Ross’ goals include spreading the organization’s message, especially to young people, so they can begin giving back to their communities through money or service, she said. Ross passes along the message through spearheading United Way’s Young Leaders United program, a networking and community service group for young professionals. “If you have a job, you’ve been blessed,” she said, explaining that those with jobs should give back to others in their communities. “A lot of people, I think, don’t realize that a little bit can go a long way.” Ross does her part in the community by mentoring middle-school students. “I think it’s because a lot of people would rather focus their attention on high school kids, and they kind of neglect middle school because they think those are rough years, and they’re kind of problem children,” she said. “Those years can be rough for middle school students, so I think that’s why they need good leadership and good mentors to be there for them to talk to and learn from.” Steve Gorman, who nominated Ross for “20 Under 40,” wrote that he met her through her work with middle-schoolers at church. He called her “a young woman of integrity.” “As the father of 16- and 12-year-old daughters, I welcome Gretchen’s interaction and influence in helping mold my girls’ image of what a successful young woman and leader should look like,” he said. Ross has also mentored some young women through her other main service interest, community theater. She has been involved in community theater since she was in middle school, she said. Since moving to Evansville, Ross has performed at the Evansville Civic Theatre and Civic Theatre Annex and the Henderson Fine Arts Center in Kentucky, she said. This year, she and some friends formed the Evansville Shakespeare Players. Although local performances may not include professional actors, the shows are quality productions that give community members “a chance to give back and act,” Ross said. “I think more people should support the community theater here because it’s pretty strong,” she said.

Adam Hubert, 29. Dentist, Columbia Family Dental Center. Growing up, Adam Hubert always knew he wanted to be a doctor. Looking back now, the idea of spending every day with his hands and face in others’ mouths wasn’t high on his bucket list. His father, David Hubert, established Columbia Family Dental Center in Evansville in 1982 on the philosophy of filling a need in the community while nurturing his patients. Genetics, however, aren’t to blame for Adam’s decision to pursue dentistry. What really drew him to the profession were the hours. Hubert, 29, married his Memorial High School sweetheart and now, as a father of three, is grateful for a schedule that allows him to be a strong presence in his family’s life, like his father was when he was growing up. After he graduated from Indiana University’s Dental School in May 2008, Hubert completed his first year of residency in Chapel Hill, N.C., where he received advanced training in general dentistry. Root canals, extractions, gum surgery, bridges, braces, veneers, teeth whitening—anything a patient might need—are Hubert’s real passion. “If you’re not comfortable in your smile, it’s going to translate in your mood,” Hubert said. “It affects people’s lives more than some realize. “More than dental health, my job is about giving people a degree of confidence, which can improve their mental health, too.” Aside from his residency and work in town, Hubert has taken advantage of foreign mission trips over the years and used his skills to fix people’s teeth in Haiti, Honduras and Mexico. “I definitely have a passion for the world,” he said. “I didn’t get into dentistry just to specifically help Evansville.” Adam says that since moving back home to work alongside his father, the two Huberts have focused on growing the business while learning to work together. Adam hesitantly admits that he and his father don’t always see eye-to-eye on professional matters, but their differences have proved to be their greatest strength. “We’re trying to take the strengths of his generation and the strengths of mine, put them together and maximize the services we can give our patients,” Adam said. “We’re actually very similar in the mindset that we’re here to serve when we’re needed and treat our patients like we’d want to be treated ourselves.”

Kyle Fields, 27. General manager, Indiana, SS&C Technologies At first glance it’s hard to imagine that the mostly empty room 302 on the third floor of Innovation Pointe in Downtown Evansville is the inception point of a large Wall Street company’s expansion into the Midwest. To some, the handful of bright-eyed employees working against the backdrop of skeleton infrastructure might appear in slight contrast to the 500 jobs SS&C Technologies announced they’d bring to Evansville by 2014 in a news release earlier this year. But to 27-year-old CPA Kyle Fields, this budding office and those who work there are already more than the sum of their parts. Based in Windsor, Conn., SS&C is a global investment and financial service provider with 15 U.S. and 11 international offices. “I think more than just a taste of Wall Street, we’re bringing an opportunity that does not currently exist in Evansville, Ind., or even the Midwest,” Fields said. “Historically, Indiana and the Midwest have been a center for manufacturing jobs. What we’re bringing is the opportunity for highly skilled, highly educated, professional careers.” Evansville native and SS&C Technologies chairman and chief executive, Bill Stone, saw in Fields an opportunity to open an office in a part of the country where Wall Street hasn’t traditionally ventured. When the two met, Fields was working as a senior financial analyst at Mead Johnson and, like any good businessman, recognized an ‘opportunity worth leveraging.’ “I do have a soft spot for Evansville, absolutely,” Fields said. “I was born and raised here, and while I definitely wanted to get out and see the world a little bit, the ultimate goal was to come back to Evansville, Ind., and stay here … I’m excited to be back.” Fields graduated from the University of Southern Indiana in 2006 with a degree in accounting and finance. Out of the gate, he took a job with PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as an auditor and got to travel extensively in the process. “I was fortunate to get out and see the world,” he said. In preliminary negotiations with the city of Evansville, Fields was used as a prime example of the “brain drain” effect that draws financial business graduates away from Indiana and the Midwest to traditionally more lucrative cities like Chicago and New York. “At the end of the day, there are certain financial careers that do not exist here in Evansville,” Fields said. “We know there’s talent here and we want to retain that talent, so we’re looking to partner with regional universities in the future to tap those resources.”

Andrea Gentry, 28. Assistant director of development, major gifts, University of Southern Indiana. Ten years ago, Andrea Gentry had no idea how important her college experience would be for her life, much less her career. After graduating from North Posey High School, Gentry’s attraction to the University of Southern Indiana was magnetic. “Within half an hour, I knew it was the place for me,” Gentry said. “It just felt right.” Gentry declared herself a public relations major and took a job as a student worker in the office of the vice president for advancement before her first semester even started in 2001. There, she was exposed to the university’s executive leadership, and her respect for the university deepened. She spent all four years of college working for USI and even filled a position in the president’s office the first semester of her senior year. During her second semester, she worked for the USI Foundation, where she was exposed to the development field. Her niche was found. “It really didn’t occur to me until my senior year of college that fundraising was something I wanted to do,” Gentry said. The day after graduation, she began working in the USI Foundation office, where she served as a senior administrative assistant and the assistant director of development, annual giving. Since July 2010, Gentry has worked as the assistant director of development, major gifts, where she spends the majority of her day outside the office, meeting face to face with university donors. “I’m building relationships for the university,” she said. “At the same time, I’m looking at the needs of the university and matching those needs with alumni and friends.” While Gentry knows many think her job is simply to ask for money, she sees things a little differently. “I’m asking someone to make an investment in the university, to invest in the lives of students so they can better themselves,” she said. Gentry and her husband, Eric, an Evansville firefighter, had their first child in August. Recently, Gentry has been using her fundraising know-how as president of the Evansville Area Fundraising Council, an organization made up of fundraisers from nearly every business sector. “I think I’m very different from my peers in that I want my entire career to be with USI,” she said. “As a student, USI brought out the best in me and that’s really where my passion for the university started. I had such a wonderful experience as a student, and as an employee, they still do everything to bring out the best in me.”

Richard Clements, 38. Assistant VP, commercial relationship manager, Fifth Third Bank. Growing up, Richard Clements’ grandmother taught him that the worst thing he could call another person was “lazy.” “It’s something that’s always stuck in my mind,” he said. “You’ve gotta work. There’s stuff to be done, and you can’t sit around, ever.” Clements, 38, has been sleeping an average of four to five hours a night since college because of his work and civic responsibilities, such as his positions as public relations chairman for the Evansville Morning Rotary Club and executive secretary for Right to Life of Southwest Indiana. After graduating from Indiana University Bloomington in 1994, he went to work for Koester Environmental; but when the company downsized, he found himself looking for other work. “It was early in my career, and that planted a seed in my mind that you need to be prepared for all things,” he said. After receiving his master’s degree in business administration from the University of Southern Indiana in 2001, he enjoyed a seven-year career with Springleaf Financial Services in the corporate development group. Clements found himself sitting in a front-row seat to watch the implosion of AIG, Springleaf’s corporate parent. As the financial crisis chipped away at his career, a friend alerted him of an opportunity in Fifth Third Bank’s commercial banking group. He was hired in February 2010 and works with regional companies in Southern Illinois, Southern Indiana and Western Kentucky that generate from $20 million gross revenue to anywhere south of $1 billion. Since Clements was 4, his father was an independent businessman and consultant. “ ... And that’s really colored my viewpoint of what it takes to start from nothing and build something,” he said. “People here see Toyota, they see Mead Johnson ... but there are a lot of smaller businesses that make a good deal of money and are really contributing to the economy. (There are) some phenomenal entrepreneurs and individuals who are running theses businesses that are really the backbone of our regional economy.”

David Bothast, 33. Director, Goodwill Family Center Volunteering is a selfish endeavor for David Bothast, director of the Goodwill Family Center. A lifelong volunteer, he started off giving his time as a way to help those in need, but since accepting three foster children into his home in September 2010, a few things have changed. “Now my focus is more to model being active in the community to my kids,” he said. “I want to show them how much difference a person can make and how easy it is to do. I want them to have a better life and ultimately pay it forward. So, in a way, I’m volunteering selfishly.” The Goodwill Family Center, established in 1992, provides employment and housing services to homeless families, focusing on those with children. In April 2010, Bothast began directing the facility where, for up to two years, 10 families are given the chance to live bill-free with on-site child care. “Our major goal is to break the cycle of poverty,” Bothast said. Bothast grew up in Hartford City, Ind., and despite his own family’s financial troubles, he remembers his mother and grandmother insisting on donating what they could to those less fortunate. “We never felt poor growing up,” he said. “In retrospect, we were dirt poor, but they would give the shirt off their back for someone in need. That attitude kind of set the precedent for my life.” Bothast enlisted in the Navy as a hospital corpsman in 1996 to pay for college. While there, he volunteered more than 1,000 hours, becoming the first serviceman at the Naval Hospital Great Lakes, in Great Lakes, Ill., to be awarded the Military Outstanding Volunteer Service medal. It was the first time he’d been recognized for volunteerism. After he received his bachelor of science in elementary education, Bothast taught grade school history and science at the Joshua Academy, a charter school in Evansville, until a chance to give back to an organization he held close to his heart presented itself. As a corpsman in North Carolina, Bothast’s 6-month-old niece died of SIDS — he had only seen her once. The American Red Cross made sure he could attend her funeral. So when the Gibson County Red Cross needed a new executive director in 2008, Bothast pushed his reservations aside and stepped up to the plate. Two years of disaster response and daily commutes from Evansville to Princeton, Ind., took a toll on his nerves (his hair still stands on end sometimes when it rains). Turned on by behind-the-scenes coordinating, Bothast has carried that leadership experience to the Family Center. With a new family and a job seemingly made for him, Bothast has no plans on a career change anytime soon. “I’ve drunk the Kool-Aid,” he said. “I believe in the mission of Goodwill Industries. I plan on being here for a while.”

Stephanie Terry, 35. Executive director of the Koch Family Children’s Museum of Evansville Stephanie Terry, 35, who said she gets her joy from “sparking (the) curious minds of children and their families,” is shining her own service-fueled light in the Tri-State. Terry, executive director of the Koch Family Children’s Museum of Evansville, has been working in the nonprofit industry for the past 10 years, mainly committing her time to children and families. Before starting her job at cMoe, she was deputy director of the Carver Community Organization. She also worked for the Substance Abuse Council of Vanderburgh County from 2001-03, she said. “I just had kind of a huge desire to be sure that youth have the support that they need and that families have the support they need to be good citizens and have quality lives,” Terry said. When her current position became available, it was “just an automatic thought” for her to pursue it, she said. “We want to be a place where childhood is celebrated, where there are quality family experiences and just to remain a cultural institution that’s committed to serving the needs and interests of children,” she said. Terry said she enjoys that every day in her job is different and that she has the opportunity to be creative in her work, “push forward” the museum’s offerings and make the museum a community destination. But “the most energizing thing” she has, which keeps her coming to work every day, is the opportunity to help children maintain their creativity and become familiar with the idea of lifelong learning, she said. Terry works for the citizens of all ages as a Vanderburgh County District 3 councilwoman, a position she was appointed and elected to in 2010. Her additional community service activities include serving on the board of directors for the Visiting Nurse Association Plus and as a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority. Terry said the sorority means a lot to her; she’s been a member for about 15 years and enjoys the group’s “Delta Days,” during which members travel to Indianapolis and Washington, D.C., to speak about current issues with state and national leaders. “Going before legislators is something that I enjoy doing,” she said. “And being a voice and speaking about things that affect everyday people.” Terry plans to keep her service light shining; she said her goals include being “an active leader in the community ... actively engaged and supporting in areas that I can for continued community development.”

Andrew Wilson, 31. Auctioneer and broker, William Wilson Auction-Realty. New Harmony, Ind., keeps on humming thanks to help from people such as Andrew Wilson, 31, who supports the community with a homegrown love for the area, its school and its people. “It’s home, but it’s also sort of what drives everything that I do,” said Wilson, principal auctioneer and broker for his family’s business, William Wilson Auction-Realty, which is based in New Harmony. Wilson graduated from New Harmony High School in 1998 in a class of 18, believing he had learned what he needed “to go on to the next level.” That included attending Reppert Auction School in Indianapolis, as well as Indiana University, where he earned a bachelor of science degree in business with a concentration in entrepreneurship. But Wilson didn’t stop there. After graduating and moving back to New Harmony, he officially began working for his father’s business, co-founded the New Harmony School Foundation and, in 2009, became one of the youngest Indiana State Senate candidates. Wilson said the experience was one of the best of his life and, if the opportunity would arise to run again, “we’ll look at it,” he said, referring to himself and his wife, Amanda. He said it all comes down to what’s best for them and their family. In the meantime, Wilson serves as president of the New Harmony School Foundation, which promotes and assists the school, “most importantly in funding,” Wilson said. This year, the foundation reached a goal of providing Junior Achievement enrichment to every student, he said. About 13 community professionals volunteered to teach classes on work readiness, financial literacy and entrepreneurship at the school, Wilson said. “I’m proud that New Harmony is able to offer (Junior Achievement enrichment) to every student,” he said. “It’s a school that’s given me a lot, it’s my alma mater and it’s a place that I have a lot of pride in.” Wilson also serves the community through his job, which includes work as a nonprofit fundraising auction consultant. He also recently founded The 1816 Group, an organization meant to “get other like-minded young people” talking about pro-business policies, he said. “It’s a committee dedicated to promoting responsible, pro-business policies, ideas and candidates,” he said. But all in all, Wilson’s heart lies in New Harmony. “I think I have a lot of passion about the community in New Harmony and what it stands for and its importance in so many ways,” he said. “That’s why I get up every day ... to make things happen and to make a difference for my family and for the community at large.”

Jenny Collins, 39. Controller for the city of Evansville The city of Evansville’s annual budget was $227 million this year. For City Controller Jenny Collins, that’s the magic number. The month of June spells the beginning of budget season, a five-month stretch of tumultuous accounting that ends in October when the city’s final budget is presented for approval. “It’s a numbers thing,” Collins said. “There’s always an answer, and I like that about accounting.” After being hit head-on by a drunken driver as a senior in high school, Collins was left recovering from dual basal skull fractures. She graduated from Reitz High School shortly after and, in October of 1990, married her high school sweetheart, Michael, who had just enlisted in the military. As a military police officer, Michael was destined for Panama, and Jenny had every intention of going with him. Over the next 10 years, they and their budding family bounced around from Central America to Fairbanks, Alaska, and back down to Alabama. All the while, Jenny worked on her bachelor’s degree, which she received from Jacksonville State University in Alabama in 1999. “I’m by no means a traditional student, but I’m very proud of my degree and what it took to get it,” Collins said. Her schooling completed, Collins and her husband decided it was time for a homecoming. “I wanted to raise my kids in Evansville,” she said. “I didn’t want them to have to move around all the time and miss out on the kinds of friendships my husband and I both had growing up.” Since starting at the City Controller’s office, Collins has worked her way through the ranks and filled nearly every desk at one time or another. Day to day, she and her small staff of 11 are charged with the collection and processing of revenues from each department within Evansville’s city government. “I get to see the good things that are being done in our community and how it’s growing,” she said. “It’s been exciting to be part of projects like the new Downtown arena.” The City Controller’s office has been responsible for monitoring the bonding to get the arena financed, and Collins’ office has continually monitored the city’s payments to ensure everyone stays within budget. “I just want to make Evansville a better place to live for the future,” she said.

Greg Freyberger, 35. Partner with Kahn, Dees, Donovan and Kahn, LLP Greg Freyberger might have deep roots in Jasper, Ind., but after moving to the River City in 2001, he’s proud to call Evansville his new hometown. “Growing up in Jasper, there was always a degree of competitive spirit between us and Evansville — it being the biggest city around,” Freyberger said. “But I moved here in 2001 and love it. Both cities are Southern Indiana communities. They share the same kind of belief system and work ethic, which is something I’ve always enjoyed.” Freyberger, 35, graduated from Indiana School of Law in 2001 and afterward, moved to Evansville to start his career as a litigator for Kahn, Dees, Donovan and Kahn, LLP. He found he had a knack for trial work and has been happily employed since. “Working in front of a jury is interesting,” Freyberger said. “It’s one of the fun parts of my job — convincing six strangers, who essentially come from all walks of life, to see things from the perspective of my clients. ... Well, it’s actually stressful, but the feeling you get after a successful case is really something else.” Over the years, Freyberger has always made the effort to pour himself into not only his work with “Kahn Dees,” but into his volunteer work and civic involvement as well. “I think it’s important to understand when you’ve been blessed and you can do something for others that are going through tougher times,” Freyberger said. “Growing up, my dad would say, ‘You become great by doing what you don’t wanna do when you don’t wanna do it,’ and I’ve tried to live by that.” Outside of the courtroom, Freyberger was recently appointed president-elect for the Leadership Evansville 2011-12 board of directors, a position he takes a lot of pride in. “I really enjoy that organization,” he said. “It reaches across a lot of other groups and inspires all types of people in the community to be active no matter where their interests lie.” Freyberger has belonged to several community organizations since 2001, including the Evansville Chapter of the American Diabetes Association, Holly’s House and Big Brothers/Big Sisters. Since starting his family, though, his time for volunteer work has taken a back seat to playing dad — for the meantime. “It might be cliché, but my wife and three kids are by far the best thing I’ve ever done. Other than that, I haven’t done much,” Freyberger said. “Long term, I just want to provide for my family. I take pride in my work and my community, and case by case, I’ll do the best I possibly can for them and my clients.”

Ben Shoulders, 33. Assistant VP and banking center manager, First Federal Savings Bank Ben Shoulders, an Evansville native and assistant vice president and banking center manager for First Federal Savings Bank, is dedicated to keeping the city “a great place to call home.” The Evansville East Sider’s involvement list is extensive, including work as vice president/president-elect of the Indiana University Alumni Association’s Greater Evansville Chapter and publicity chairman and historian of the Young Professionals Network. Shoulders, 33, is also a member of the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corp. Foundation Alumni Board, Boys & Girls Club of Evansville board of directors and Evansville’s Habitat for Humanity development committee. In addition, he is a graduate of Leadership Evansville’s February 2011 class and a member of the Leadership Evansville board of directors. “It’s kind of just been a place that I have just kind of taken for granted because I’ve always lived here,” Shoulders said. “Now that I’m older, I want to see it be as good of a place for my children as it can be.” With the support of his family, Shoulders has been doing just that — working to make Evansville better for its citizens, including his young daughter, Emma. His projects have included working with the IU Alumni Association’s Greater Evansville Chapter to build a home with Habitat for Humanity of Evansville. “I was very impressed and very humbled and honored to be a part of that with Habitat,” he said. Shoulders’ work with First Federal Bank also ties into helping the home-building organization, as the bank “teams a lot” with Habitat, he said. Shoulders has also been involved with the Chamber of Commerce and a three-year member of the Rotaract Club of Evansville because of connections between the organizations and First Federal Bank, he said. Lori Reed, executive director of Habitat for Humanity of Evansville, spoke highly of Shoulders and his work for the organization in her “20 Under 40” nomination form. “Witnessing firsthand that life-changing experience for one family, Ben dedicated himself to Habitat’s vision of eliminating poverty housing in Evansville and has become an invaluable resource on Habitat’s development committee,” she said. Reed also described Shoulders’ appreciation for Harrison High School athletics and his work to raise money for the Harrison High School Multipurpose Complex. Shoulders graduated from the school in 1996, and his family “has many generations of graduates at Harrison,” he said. These factors, coupled with a love of sports, led to his dedication to the school and work to raise money with the high school’s booster club and multipurpose complex steering committee for the new complex. “It’s going to serve a lot of different needs at Harrison,” Shoulders said. “It’s high time that we built something out there.”

Alisha Aman, 37. Executive director of administration for Ivy Tech Community College. Since taking on the position of executive director of administration for Ivy Tech Community College, Alisha Aman has found the perfect on-the-job balance between fulfilling her passions and using her skill sets. Her responsibilities include financial management of not only the Evansville campus, but the Princeton and Tell City, Ind., campuses as well. She also is in charge of information technology, facilities and regional planning, a development position that requires her to build relationships on the college’s behalf. “You can’t get anywhere by yourself,” Aman said. “It’s all about relationship development, planning and building for the future. ... I love my job so much, because I’ve always been good at math and organization, but I also love human interaction, to serve and help others.” One of Aman’s pet projects with Ivy Tech is an initiative to move all three campuses in a greener direction by pushing recycling reforms that cut down on trash production. After hiring a third-party recycler, different materials no longer need to be sorted. While it might not seem like a monumental change to some, the program has been well received and garnered excellent results. “It goes back to my underlying philosophy that we are stewards of this planet,” Aman said. “Our student population has increased tremendously over the last three years, but the amount of trash generated by students hasn’t gone up at all during that time.” In addition to facility development projects at all three campuses, Aman also has played a key role in overseeing the 2011 addition of six classrooms to the Evansville campus on First Avenue. “Our overlying philosophy is the community showed a lot of financial support to build that facility through donations and commitments, and we want to make sure we’re giving back by allowing them to use it for free and enjoy the facility that they helped bring to fruition,” she said. After graduating high school, Aman took her first accounting job to pay for college. Though she initially planned to study psychology, she chose to pursue business to make sure she could make it home, rested, at the end of each day to spend time with her four children. She also teaches Accounting 101 part time, which affords her the opportunity to connect with the students she otherwise might never know. “Graduation day is my favorite day,” Aman said. “I’m always proud of them, because I know what it’s like to put yourself through school. When I see them walking, I just know they’re going to take off and be wonderful at whatever they put their minds to.”